Argentina’s foreign minister angrily refused to acknowledge a member of the
Falkland Islands parliament when he attempted to speak to him in the Commons.

Dick Sawle ambushed Hector Timerman in the lobby of the Houses of Parliament and tried to discuss Argentina’s decision to pull out of talks with William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, after the British Government insisted on representatives of the Falklands being present at the talks.

Mr Timerman, who has said the islands will be under Argentinian control within 20 years, immediately walked away from Mr Sawle when he realised who he was, witnesses said.

Mr Sawle had attempted to give Mr Timerman a letter and was left calling, “We’re just keen to speak to you”, as the Argentinian minister rushed out of the Commons with his entourage.

Mr Timerman had minutes earlier clashed with MPs when he appeared before the all-party group on Argentina.

There was anger when he made it clear that Buenos Aires would not recognise the result of a referendum held by the islanders next month on whether they want to remain part of the British Overseas Territories.

"The self-determination referendum doesn't apply to the Malvinas. It is not a colonised people, it is a colonised territory," he said.

"It is not a matter for negotiation. Not one single country in the world recognises the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in the Malvinas.

"We have to respect the interests of the people living in the area but not the wishes."

He compared Britain's approach to the islands to Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

"It is strange you behave one way in the Malvinas and complain about the settlements," he said.

However a series of MPs intervened, to warn that as far as the UK was concerned, the wishes of the islanders had to be respected.

Commons deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle said the islands were not "for Britain to give or for Argentina to take".

"Just listen to the people who live there. Allow their voices to be heard," he said.

Labour MP Derek Twigg, the chairman of the all-party group on the Falklands, made clear there could be no compromise on the issue of self-determination.

"As far as we are concerned, there can be no negotiation on the issue of self-determination," he said.

Mr Sawle’s letter to Mr Timerman said: “There is no reason to be afraid of sitting down with the Falkland Islanders. Previous Argentine Governments have done so. In the twenty-first century democracies like ours should be able to discuss our differences in a reasonable and constructive way.”

Mr Sawle, a member of the Legislative Assembly, added that the people of the Falklands were not seeking "conflict or confrontation" with Argentina, insisting they would like to "discuss our differences in a reasonable and constructive way" with Buenos Aires.

In a joint interview with The Guardian and The Independent Mr Timerman had earlier claimed that the islands would be under Argentine control within 20 years, while denouncing the British as "fanatics".